


Umbrella Academy's Number One Fan

by noodlerdoodler



Series: Hargreeves Appreciation Week [3]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Aunt-Niece Relationship, Birthday Fluff, Cutesy, DaD sEnT mE tO tHe MoOn (Umbrella Academy), Everyone Needs A Hug, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Good Sibling Vanya Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves Gets A Hug, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Multi, Other, Post-Canon, Post-Divorce, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Uncle-Niece Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:21:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26000296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noodlerdoodler/pseuds/noodlerdoodler
Summary: Even to the least observant of them, it was obvious that she had spent a lot of time on this drawing and been very careful when it came to colouring it in. Eight different figures featured in the drawing, dressed in classic Academy uniforms, and were sporting typical superhero stances. Helpfully, each figure had been marked by a number but without them, it was still obvious who was meant to be who. The scribbled Number Six brought tears to Klaus’s eyes.At the top of the picture, the words “Umbrella Academy saves the day!” had been printed.“Who’s the one on the end?” Five asked, leaning forward to get a better look.“It’s me!” Claire announced, pleased, “In the uniform. I’m Number Eight!”
Relationships: Claire & Allison Hargreeves, Claire & The Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy)
Series: Hargreeves Appreciation Week [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1884436
Comments: 12
Kudos: 265





	Umbrella Academy's Number One Fan

It had taken a long time to talk Patrick round but finally, _finally_ , Claire was going to visit during her birthday weekend. They’d compromised on her staying with Patrick for her birthday and having a party with her friends and then flying out to join the Hargreeves for a weekend away. As excited as Allison was, she was very nervous for her daughter to stay with them. Not only were her family extremely temperamental, they also tended to attract trouble. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if something happened to Claire.

For that very reason, she’d brought the most stable of her siblings with her to meet Claire at the airport. It had been a difficult process: Diego was immediately out because he was too likely to get into trouble, Luther would’ve been a good choice if it wasn’t for their awkward history, Klaus would obviously be the most fun but he could be difficult to reign in, and Five… There was no way she was driving up to the airport with only Five for company. 

And then, Klaus had said: “What about Vanya?”

Vanya was perfect. A fully-functioning adult, who had actually managed to exist in normal society without getting arrested, killed, or slammed in a mental institution. She was meek, polite, and friendly- even if she had blown up the moon that one time. Plus, Allison adored her, so that was that. As they waited on the other side of the gates, Vanya squeezed her hand, as if she could sense how nervous she was and her sister knew she’d made the right decision in bringing her. 

“She’s gonna be fine,” Vanya told her, “You said she loved hearing about the Umbrella Academy back home, right? Well, now she can see it in person.”

Allison squeezed her back, looking at her gratefully, “I just… I haven’t seen her in so long. I was living in Dallas for two years, I had a whole other life out there,” As if Vanya needed reminded, “Oh, hey, I’m sorry. I forgot about… never mind.”

Before Vanya could assure her it was fine, (as she no doubt would), Allison saw her: her little girl. 

“Mommy!” Claire squealed in delight, running over as soon as she laid eyes on her.

Allison knelt down, opening her arms, and her daughter flung herself at her. It was like the whole world melted away in that moment and, even though Claire was right there in her arms, it was as though she missed her all over again. She had waited so long, longer that Claire would ever know, to see her again. Yet, her daughter looked almost exactly the same. 

When she straightened back up, she found Patrick was making awkward small talk with Vanya. The handoff was pretty strange as her ex-husband handed her Claire’s suitcase and offhandedly mentioned that she should keep her ‘rumours’ to herself. She couldn’t really criticise Patrick for being protective of their daughter but she was still royally pissed off that he’d bring it up. Once Claire had hugged her father goodbye, the three girls headed out into the parking lot.

“This is your Auntie Vanya,” Allison introduced, holding her daughter’s hand as she walked.

“I’ve heard so much about you, Claire,” Her sister smiled at the small girl fondly. 

Claire looked up at her, bouncing on her toes, “You play the violin! Mom told me you’d show me! Can I play the violin like you, Auntie Vanya? Please, please, please?” 

When she released Allison’s hand and instead grabbed onto her aunt’s to plead, Vanya just about melted onto the floor of the parking lot she was so happy. 

She chattered the entire drive back to the Academy, talking about her school, her friends, and the kind of drama that little girls get into with their friendships. Apparently, she’d heard from a friend of a friend that somebody’s cousin liked her. But more than anything, Claire wanted to know more about the Academy and what it was like. They took it in turns to answer her questions but nothing could’ve prepared her for the grand building with the umbrella imprinted on the double doors. 

“Wow!” Claire leapt out of the car and rushed to the gates, “Mom, this is your house?”

“I guess so,” Allison laughed lightly, shutting the car door and exchanging a look with Vanya. It was nice that her daughter thought the house was so cool, whereas the rest of them associated it with their slightly traumatic upbringing. Perhaps this weekend, they could make some new memories to replace the old ones. Her siblings seemed to have had the same idea.

Walking into the house was like walking into a rehab group, (Klaus would’ve appreciated that joke), as the rest of the family were gathered around the coffee table nervously. Diego was resting one foot on the table, polishing one of his knives, while Luther was hissing at him to put it away, his posture tense. It looked like they’d been preparing for their return for a long time- somebody had even strung up a 'happy birthday’ banner on the upstairs banister. 

When they came in, Klaus leapt to his feet quickly and promptly tripped over Diego’s leg, sending him sprawling to the floor at Allison’s feet. So, they were off to a stellar start. Hiding her laugh behind her hand, Vanya disappeared into the kitchen to make coffee. 

“Everyone, this is Claire,” Allison put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders proudly, “Claire, these are my brothers. That’s your Uncle Diego-“ He waggled his knife in the air like it was a greeting, “Your Uncle Luther-“ He nodded to her, “And that’s Uncle Klaus on the floor.”

Getting up from the floor, Klaus groaned and stretched his back, “I’m getting clumsy in my old age. You’re going to have to put me in a senior citizen’s home soon. Don’t laugh, Luther, their rates can be pretty steep. You won’t be laughing th-”

Before he could finish, Claire leapt forward and flung her arms around his legs, “The Seánce!” 

“Don’t usually get that one anymore,” Klaus sounded amused, patting his niece on the head, “Hey, you’re even prettier than your Mom! I didn’t know that was even possible. Except for me, of course, everyone knows I got the good looks in this family.”

Allison swatted him over the head, making him laugh, and she moved around him to sit on the couch next to Luther. If she thought the interrogation on the way over was intense, it was nothing compared to the grilling that Klaus got about what ghosts he had seen and which was his favourite. To his credit, he played along and tried to downplay the scarier aspects of his ability. She mouthed a ‘thank you’ at him over Claire’s head. 

When she was done with Klaus, Claire immediately leapt on Luther to hear about the moon. Literally leapt on him, climbing on the couch between him and Allison and tugging on his sweater as she begged. She wasn’t in the least bit shy, like she’d known her uncles all her life, and she had in a way, Allison supposed. Well, she knew all the stories about when they were kids and superheroes. Claire had even read a handful of the Umbrella Academy comics, which she kept on proud display on her bookcase, but preferred to hear it directly from her mom. 

She told the stories better.

Luther was in the middle of a classic moon story when Vanya returned with drinks on a tray and Diego muttered ‘thank god’ under his breath. She handed out coffees to each of them, leaving one on the table that was presumably for herself, and then hesitated.

“I didn’t know what you’d like, Claire, so I got a few different drinks. Apple juice, orange juice, and water. If none of those are okay, I think we have soda somewhere,” She worried her bottom lip, as if it genuinely mattered to her whether Claire had a soft drink she liked. It was sweet of her.

“Orange juice, please, Auntie Vanya,” She grinned at her. 

And of course, the arrival of coffee meant the arrival of- pop!- Five as he warped onto the sofa beside Diego. When he had moved back in and started doing that, it had made everyone jump in surprise each time, but now nobody even acknowledged him. He rescued poor Vanya’s coffee off the table and took a long drink from it, proclaiming that it wasn’t half bad. Then, he lazily crossed one leg over the other and lounged back on the sofa.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Claire,” Five nodded to her coolly. 

It looked like Claire was a bit awed, mumbling a greeting under her breath and looking excitedly at her mom. Allison nodded at her and the girl wriggled off the couch to run to her suitcase, which had been left at the bottom of the stairs. Quirking an eyebrow, Five watched with the rest of them as she dug around frantically for something packed under her clothes and then came rushing back with a crumpled drawing. Proudly, Claire held it out for them all to see. 

Even to the least observant of them, it was obvious that she had spent a lot of time on this drawing and been very careful when it came to colouring it in. Eight different figures featured in the drawing, dressed in classic Academy uniforms, and were sporting typical superhero stances. Helpfully, each figure had been marked by a number but without them, it was still obvious who was meant to be who. The scribbled Number Six brought tears to Klaus’s eyes. 

At the top of the picture, the words “Umbrella Academy saves the day!” had been printed. 

“Who’s the one on the end?” Five asked, leaning forward to get a better look.

“It’s me!” Claire announced, pleased, “In the uniform. I’m Number Eight!” 

Once he’d wiped his tears away, Klaus took the drawing from her and stared at it, “This is definitely front-of-the-fridge material.” 

Delighted, Claire followed her uncle into the kitchen to watch him stick it on the fridge but came back without him, announcing that Uncle Klaus needed some time with his drink. That made the rest of them groan and Luther went after him to set him straight, knowing that drunk Klaus wasn’t an age-appropriate sight for Claire. In the meantime, Allison took her daughter upstairs.

They’d agreed, after some tentative discussion, that Claire would sleep in Allison’s old room during the weekend and she was delighted about this. Briefly, they’d talked about putting her in Ben’s old room but the idea had been shot down immediately and there wasn’t much argument. Exploring her mom’s bedroom proved to be a great source of entertainment for Claire, who inspected all of her old stuff closely, especially when she opened the wardrobe. 

All of Allison’s old uniforms were still in there and one look at Claire’s puppy-dog eyes was enough to warn her what was going to happen next.

“Dinner’s ready!” Klaus called up the stairs, ringing his annoying bell to get their attention. They still hadn’t worked out where he’d gotten the damn thing from. 

Claire didn’t need prompting, racing down the stairs. She leapt down the last few and stood there, throwing back her head and putting her hands on her hips. Clearing her throat, Claire looked pretty as ever in a shirt, plaid pinafore, and blazer. Although the uniform was a little loose, it fit her well enough and she looked as proud to wear it as Allison remembered herself being. She was even wearing the knee socks, pulled right up, and had the domino mask plastered on. 

The first one to notice was Vanya, who seemed taken aback for a second, because Claire didn’t look entirely unlike Allison at the same age. Then, she seemed to regain her composure and let out a dramatic gasp, shaking Claire’s hand and saying how excited she was to meet Number Eight. This made Claire start giggling and then Klaus swept her up in his arms. 

“Oh, the newest member of the Umbrella Academy!” Despite his skinny frame, he didn’t seem to have any problems swinging her around before he plopped her back onto the ground, “Quick, our grilled cheese dinner has gone berserk and needs to be eaten right away, before it destroys the world! Come with me!” 

Even Allison was laughing as they headed into the kitchen, where there was yet another surprise. They all knew that Luther had gotten into baking recently, to provide a pleasant reprieve from his more physical hobbies, and had all tried some of his treats. But none of them had known that he’d baked and frosted a cake for Claire, with ‘Happy Birthday from the Umbrella Academy’ iced on the top in sloppy writing. He’d even stuck enough candles in it. 

“Oh, wow!” Claire clambered onto a chair, looking like the cat who got the cream. 

Withdrawing a lighter from his pocket, Klaus lit the candles and lead them in a rousing round of ‘Happy Birthday’. It felt a little peculiar and off-kilter, since dad had never let them celebrate their birthday- let alone with cakes or songs. Grouchily, Five refused to sing and just sat sipping his coffee while Diego mumbled along reluctantly, looking like he wanted it to be over as soon as possible. Which made it all the more surprising that, after Claire blew out the candles, he drew out something wrapped in orange tissue paper from behind his back.

Claire hadn’t spoken a word to Diego, for everything she’d said to the rest of them, and looked at him shyly as she took the present. She said a very quiet ‘thank you’ and had him lean down so that she could give him a small hug, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

Tearing off the wrapping paper, Claire was excited to find a set of throwing knives. Immediately, Allison confiscated them and gave Diego a what-were-you-thinking look. 

“Knives are cool,” Diego shrugged at her, “Dad gave me that set when I was her age.”

Thankfully, the rest of them had picked out somewhat more appropriate gifts. After Allison sliced up the cake and handed out pieces to everyone, (even lactose intolerant Klaus wanted some and Five went back for thirds, the sugar addict), Claire opened a pile of presents from her aunt and the rest of her uncles. A piece of real moon rock from her Uncle Luther, a very flashy pair of kitten heels from her Uncle Klaus, and one of Vanya’s old violins for her to learn on.

“She can get way ahead of her peers,” Five said enthusiastically, when Claire unwrapped a college-level quantum physics textbook, “She could get into college early! Especially if she starts working on extra-credit assignments now.”

“You’re proving yourself to be out of touch, old man,” Luther told him, ruffling his annoyed brother’s hair as if to remind him how small he was. 

Glowering, Five slammed his hands down on the table and got to his feet, ready to sock his brother in the jaw. A knife flew through the air, skimming the top of Five’s hair, and hit the wall behind him, causing him to jump out of the room in annoyance. No doubt, he was off to plot some kind of revenge, the stubborn old man. Diego looked smug when his niece started clapping, staring at him in awe and immediately started pleading to for him to do it again. 

Allison pressed her head into her hands and groaned, “Oh my god.”

“More cake, Claire?” Vanya tried, attempting to steer the conversation back to normality. 

“I want to play with my new knives, Mommy!” Claire turned to her, “Uncle Diego can help me.”

She was definitely going to lose her custody rights again.


End file.
